Naufal Farisy Riyadhah

270110150096
Kelas D

OIL AND GAS

Oil and gas are formed from organic material mainly deposited as sediments on the seabed and
then broken down and transformed over millions of years. If there is a suitable combination of source
rock, reservoir rock, cap rock and a trap in an area, recoverable oil and gas deposits may be discovered
there. Oil and gas are formed from organic material mainly deposited as sediments on the seabed and then
broken down and transformed over millions of years. Most of the oil and gas deposits on the Norwegian
shelf originate from a thick layer of black clay that currently lies several thousand metres under the
seabed. The black clay is a source rock, which means a deposit containing significant quantities of
organic residue. The clay was deposited around 150 million years ago at the bottom of a sea that covered
much of present-day northwestern Europe. Much of the seabed here was dead and stagnant, while the
upper water layers were teeming with life. As the microscopic phytoplankton died, they sank to the
bottom and accumulated in large quantities in the oxygen-free sediments. Over time, they were buried
deeper and subjected to a long process of chemical conversion by bacterial decomposition and maturing
under a thickening pile of sediment. This caused the formation of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in the
source rock. One of the products of anaerobic decomposition of organic matter is kerogen, which at high
temperature and pressure slowly generates oil and gas. On the Norwegian continental shelf, the
temperature rises by about 25 °C per kilometre of depth. After more than a hundred million years of
erosion and sedimentation, the source rock may be buried under several kilometres of clay and sand
deposits. Oil is generated when the kerogen temperature reaches 60-120 °C; at higher temperatures, it is
mainly gas that is generated. As oil and gas form, they seep out of the source rock. Because hydrocarbons
are lighter than water, the oil and gas migrate upwards in porous water-bearing rock. Oil and gas
migration takes thousands of years, and may extend over tens of kilometres until it is stopped by
impermeable layers of rock, or the oil or gas leaks out into the sea. Reservoir rocks are porous and always
saturated with water, oil and gas in various combinations. Most of Norway’s petroleum resources are
trapped in reservoir rocks deposited in large deltas formed by rivers that ran into the sea during the
Jurassic Period. The main reservoirs of the Gullfaks, Oseberg and Statfjord fields are in the large Brent
delta that formed in the Jurassic. There are also large reservoirs in sand that was deposited on alluvial
plains during the Triassic Period (the Snorre field), in shallow seas in the Late Jurassic (the Troll field)
and as subsea fans during the Paleogene Period (the Balder field). In the southern part of the North Sea,
thick layers of chalk composed of microscopic calcareous skeletons of plants and animals form an
important reservoir rock, as in the Ekofisk Field. Mudrocks and other impermeable deposits influence
migration routes from the source rock to the reservoir. In addition, impermeable rock has to be present to
stop petroleum escaping from reservoir rock. Impermeable rock that forms a seal over reservoir rocks is
called cap rock. In addition, the configuration of the reservoir rocks must be such that the oil collects in a
trap. If there is a suitable combination of source rock, reservoir rock, cap rock and a trap in an area,
recoverable oil and gas deposits may be discovered there. Petroleum formation occurs by various
hydrocarbons combining with certain minerals such as sulphur under extreme pressure. Modern day
scientists have proven that most if not all petroleum fields were created by the remains of small animal
and plant life being compressed on the sea bed by billions of tons of silt and sand several million years
ago. When small sea plants and animals die they will sink, they will then lie on the sea bed where they
will decompose and mix with sand and silt. During the decomposition process tiny bacteria will clean the
remains of certain chemicals such as phosphorus, nitrogen and oxygen. This leaves the remains consisting
of mainly carbon and hydrogen. At the bottom of the ocean there is insufficient oxygen for the corpse to
decompose entirely. What we are left with is the raw materials for the formation of petroleum. The
partially decomposed remains will form a large, gelatinous mass, which will then slowly become covered
by multiple layers of sand, silt and mud. This burying process takes millions of years, with layers piling
up one atop another. As the depth of the sediment build up increases the weight of the sand and silt
pressing down on the mass will compress it into a layer which is much thinner than the original. Finally,
when the depth of the buried decomposing layer reaches somewhere around 10,000 feet the natural heat
of the earth and the intense pressure will combine to act upon the mass. The end result, over time, is the
formation of petroleum. With petroleum formation the actual temperature applied to the original organic
mass is critical in determining the overall properties of the resulting petroleum. Typically lower
temperatures during petroleum formation will result in thicker, darker raw petroleum deposits, the most
solid of which being a bitumen substance. If the heat applied during the formation of petroleum process
fluctuates too much then gas will be produced, often separating from the petroleum, sometimes remaining
mixed with the raw oil. If temperatures are too high, in the somewhere over 450 degrees Fahrenheit then
the original biomass will be destroyed and no gas or petroleum is formed. As the mud and silt above the
deposit become heavier and the forces placed upon the silt and mud begin to change the bottom layers of
the compressing layer above the petroleum then it will turn into shale. As the shale forms the oil will be
forced out of its original area of formation. The raw petroleum then moves to a new rock formation,
usually termed a reservoir rock, and lays trapped until it is accessed in some way. As we can see, the
formation of naturally occurring rawpetroleum takes millions of years, certainly far longer than can be
deemed renewable, yet mankind has managed to almost complete deplete the world supply in little more
than a century. It is important that people are educated and come to realise that burning such a precious
fuel, which takes so long to form, at such a rate as we do now is nothing short of disastrous for the
environment.